Tweedy - Powerstation, 25 March 2016

Photo credit: 13th Floor

I'm a huge Wilco fan and had given up on the Tweedy band making it to this part of the world once Wilco released their new record. But Bluesfest this year had a great lineup including what might be the last shows for this band. Unfortunately Sunday on an Easter long weekend is usually pretty quiet in Auckland and the Powerstation was only about half full. Those that were there got a typically great Tweedy show. Previous shows on the tour had featured some special guests for a closing Bowie number, but (despite there being a few Finns in attendance) that didn't happen. Instead we got Jeff's youngest son Sammy making his live debut on a cover of Big Star's Thirteen. The kid looks a lot like his Dad and has one hell of a voice. Other highlights were Diamond Light, World Away and One Wing.

Like I said, a great show and hopefully the promoter isn't put off by the small attendance, I'm sure a day or two either side would have been very different. The quality of the recording is really good, helped by the fact that the crowd, while being very engaged, weren't too talkative even during the very quiet acoustic set.

Hazel
Fake Fur Coat
Diamond Light
Flowering
Summer Noon
World Away
New Moon
High As Hello
Wait For Love
Love Like a Wire
Low Key
Nobody Dies Anymore
Via Chicago
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
One Wing
New Madrid
Remember the Mountain Bed
Hummingbird
Please Tell My Brother
Born Alone
Jesus etc
I'm the Man Who Loves You
A Shot in the Arm
Thirteen (Sammy Tweedy on vocals)
Please Don't Let Me Be So Understood
Only the Lord Knows
The Losing End
California Stars
Queen Bitch

WAV

MP3

Various Artists - The Best of Bonaroo

This is a free compilation that was put out to promote voting for the 2008 US presidential election. It doesn't seems to be available anymore, so I've uploaded it, rather than post a link like I normally do.
Anyway, this compilation pulls together the best live performances from Bonnaroo. There's a bit of an emphasis on jam bands, which really isn't my thing, but this is made up for by the quality of the rest of the songs. Worth particular mention is My Morning Jacket's cover of the Velvet Underground's Oh! Sweet Nuthin', which they recently reprised following Lou Reed's death.

Bull Black Nova [Wilco]
Animal [Pearl Jam]
Inaudible Melodies [Jack Johnson]
Rapunzel [Dave Matthews Band]
Cath... [Death Cab for Cutie]
Fuel [Ani DiFranco]
Kill Devil Falls [Phish]
Banks of the Deep End [Gov't Mule]
Delicate Few [O.A.R.]
Not Coming Down [moe.]
100 Yard Dash [Raphael Saadiq]
Throwing Stones [Bob Weir & Rat Dog]
And the Ladies Were the Rest of the Night [The Disco Biscuits]
The Wanting Comes in Waves [The Decemberists]
Oh! Sweet Nuthin' [My Morning Jacket]
Happier [Guster]
Box of Rain [Phil Lesh]

https://mega.co.nz/#F!9J8yUACL!tu4fJKFl4mZ9eU2i-92XBw

Jay Bennett - Whatever Happened I Apologize

It was interesting listening to Billy Bragg talk at his show last year about the influence of Jay Bennett on the Mermaid Avenue sessions. Clearly the guy was incredibly talented. His departure from Wilco is captured in I Am Trying to Break Your Heart. But despite all that, and despite the fact that he never gained much public attention again, he produced some really good music right up until his death.

The obvious first question people will ask is does this sound like Wilco, and the answer is no. But that might put some people off but in reality its a good thing - rather than try to recreate his past glories he's moved on to something different that can more easily be judged it its own right. And doing so shows a pretty rewarding album. Ironically, given the disagreements seen in I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, this is very underproduced. In the post part its Bennett playing acoustic guitar, with some minimal additional instruments (all played by Bennett too). The sound is folky and country sounding. Lyrically its bleak but never overly morbid (in some ways it reminds me of Elliott Smith). Bennett's life had some fairly tragic elements, and his death came at time when people close to him said he had finally got himself in a good place. But Bennett's legacy remains in a wealth of fantastic music, including his solo work which is likely to be overlooked in favour of his work with Wilco.

http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jay_Bennett/Whatever_Happened_I_Apologize/

Wilco - 27 March 2013, Hamer Hall (SBD)

ABC radio broadcast Wilco's first night in Melbourne, so there are now soundboard recordings of three of the four headlining shows. I've grabbed a processed the streaming audio that ABC had up and added a link to the original page for the show - http://this-was-now.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/wilco-27-march-2013-hamer-hall.html. My recording is still up there in case anyone wants it, but the quality of the ABC recording is really good.

Wilco - 28 March 2013, Hamer Hall

Wilco's second night in Melbourne was an improvement on the first in lots of ways - because the band knew there was a strict 11pm curfew, they could structure the set better, and made a conscious effort to fit in as much as they could (they still dropped New Madrid from the written setlist; hearing that would have blown my mind). The band also played a few rarer tunes compared to the first night. Lastly, any set that opens Art of Almost/I Might/Misunderstood is going to be tough to beat.

The band very rarely has an off  night but tonight (and pretty much the whole tour in fact) Nels Cline was in particularly great form. Jeff commented after he tore apart Impossible Germany; in typical self-effacing fashion Nels pointed out he messed up one of his pedals at the end.

The recording quality of this night was better than the first. It still sounds a bit rough when Jeff talks to the crowd, but the songs are generally good.

MP3 Download

WAV Download

Wilco - 30 March 2013, Bluesfest

This was the first of Wilco's two appearances at Bluesfest. I was expecting a very hits focussed set, but they played a few songs that wouldn't have been familiar to casual fans and lots from The Whole Love. It was a pretty good set and they managed to attract a large audience (Bluesfest is largely a classic rock festival - headliners were Robert Plant and Paul Simon - so there were plenty who didn't know Wilco). The crowd was mostly good, but I got stuck next to the people who claim (loudly) to be massive Wilco fans, and then proceed to spend most of the set talking (loudly) about what huge fans they are, before leaving part way through. Fortunately, it was a fairly noisy crowd so in the recording they aren't as annoying as they were at the time.

The recording quality is decent enough. The set was in a tent, so the acoustics aren't fantastic, but not awful either.

https://mega.co.nz/#F!wUkA1TRA!N_luwVc7rG85Tnc4ArMl8w

Wilco - 2 and 3 April 2013, Sydney Opera House

Wilco's first night in Sydney was very short because of an apparent miscommunication about when the set had to end. To make up for this (and the cameras that were required to film the second night - although I can't see how that hampered the show) the band have offered ticket holders downloads of both shows. It seems that these are already circulating freely, so I'm assuming it's OK to put these up.

April 2: http://t.opsp.in/i0xug
April 3: http://t.opsp.in/i0xuh

The second night was also on youtube, although it doesn't seem to be available right now, hopefully because they're sorting out the fact it's horribly out of sync. [Update: yup, someone has fixed it up - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HHW217cpKA]

Wilco - 27 March 2013, Hamer Hall

ABC Radio Recording

These guys are one of my absolute favourite bands, so I was incredibly excited to see them again after nearly three years. It certainly doesn't hurt that their current album is on a par with the best they've ever released.

There has been a lot of discussion among fans about using One Sunday Morning as an opener, its long and mellow, which some people said wasn't a great start to shows. I'd always thought it was a good opening choice, but I can see that they mean now. Still, its such a great song and it might  be hard to fit into the set elsewhere.

Particular highlights were the wonderful acoustic version of Spiders (Kidsmoke), both the tracks off A.M., and of course all the new material. The only downside was that the band had planned on playing substantially longer, but were caught out by Hamer Hall's strict 11pm curfew on weeknights. That resulted in seven or so songs being dropped.

Sound quality is pretty good. The dynamic range is pretty huge when you go from One Sunday Morning to A Shot in the Arm, so there is a tiny bit of static, but hopefully it isn't too noticeable. Having listened to this again I find the static really annoying. I tried to redo the whole thing, but it only results in a slight improvement and the whole thing sounds incredibly processed. I tried bumping up the input volume for one the other nights and ended up with a bit of distortion, so I'm thinking Wilco is just a hard band to record.

One Sunday Morning
Poor Places
Art of Almost
I Might
Sunken Treasure
Spiders (Kidsmoke)
Impossible Germany
Born Alone
Laminated Cat
Radio Cure
Handshake Drugs
Shouldn't Be Ashamed
Jesus., etc
Whole Love
Box Full of Letters
I'm Always in Love
Heavy Metal Drummer
Dawned on Me
A Shot in the Arm

The Late Greats
Walken
I'm the Man Who Loves You

https://mega.co.nz/#F!xcdRlbTK!I7CCv3ViCaQw2PhvTAasNQ

WAV Download

Update: ABC radio recorded this and streamed it on the website. This is my rip and processing of the stream. It's soundboard quality and is a much better listen than my recording. I'll leave my one's up, but for most people, this will be the one to get:

ABC Radio Recording

Wilco - 26 March 2013, RRR Radio

The day before they played in Melbourne Wilco went into RRR radio station for an interview and short set. This was ripped from the high quality streaming audio and then cleaned up a bit (mainly removing a bit of light background static).

Interview
Dawned on Me
Sunken Treasure
Born Alone
Sky Blue Sky
Whole Love
I Might

http://www.mediafire.com/?fj52h682z850b

Wilco - Brooklyn '09

You may have noticed that things have gone a bit quiet around here. Hopefully I’ll feel a bit more motivated in the new year, but for now here’s something to whet your appetite for Wilco’s upcoming tour. It’s a complete show made available through their website using the ‘donate what you want’ model. The cause at the time was the Haiti earthquake and donations were directed to Oxfam. Why not make a donation, or even better set up an automatic payment (folks like Oxfam much prefer a regular payment of even $10 per month since it lets them plan ahead).

To the show – this was on Coney Island in Brooklyn, and features guest appearances from Feist, Yo La Tengo, and Ed Droste from Grizzly Bear. As usual the band mixes up the setlist, playing songs off every album except AM.

Wilco (The Song)

I Am Trying to Break Your Heart

A Shot in the Arm

At Least That’s What You Said

Bull Black Nova

You Are My Face

One Wing

Handshake Drugs

Deeper Down

Impossible Germany

Take Me Out to the Ballgame [the show is in a baseball park]

Jesus., etc

Sonny Feeling

I’m Always in Love

Can’t Stand It

Hate it Here

Walken

I’m the Man Who Loves You

Hummingbird

Heavy Metal Drummer

You and I (with Feist)

California Stars/You Never Know (with Feist and Ed Droste)

Misunderstood

Spiders (Kidsmoke) (with Yo La Tengo)

The Late Greats

Hoodoo Voodoo (with Feist and Ed Droste)

http://www.mediafire.com/?aybl1z40hojo0

Wilco - 28 April 2010, Wellington

This is one that I didn't record, but the person who screams at the band before She's a Jar [update: phew, not that person at all] requested it over at the Wilco forum viachicago.org. The recording is pretty good quality, and while it isn't the best show they played that tour and doesn't feature a tons of rarities (Magazine Called Sunset was a nice surprise though), there are a bunch of songs that don't get played too often recently.

For hardcore fans, its also worth noting that, as far as I'm aware, this show hasn't been circulated at all. I got it from the person who recorded it, and have offered it around a few times, but without any interest.

Wilco (The Song)
Bull Black Nova
You Are My Face
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
One Wing
A Shot in the Arm
At Least That's What You Said
Muzzle of Bees
One By One
Misunderstood
She's a Jar
Handshake Drugs
Impossible Germany
California Stars
Poor Places
Spiders (Kidsmoke)
Hummingbird
Sonny Feeling
Magazine Called Sunset
Heavy Metal Drummer
Jesus, etc.
Theologians
Walken
Hate it Here
I'm the Man Who Loves You

Thank You Friends
The Late Greats
I'm a Wheel

http://www.mediafire.com/?r4emxv0jqmg3m

Wilco - NPR Tiny Desk Concert

Well, as I promised here is Wilco's Tiny Desk Concert from NPR.  Given the space constraints this is a mainly acoustic set, so the versions are different to others around (although only slightly, there isn't anything like the acoustic version of Spiders here).  I'll also (hopefully) post the video for this, which is worth watching just to see Glenn Kotche's miniature percussion set (check the picture).

Update: not sure what the problem is, but whenever I try to upload the video to mediafire it fails (something to do with not receiving a download.php file????).  If anyone knows what the cause of this is (and ideally how to stop it) that'd be great because its stopping me putting up some stuff.
Dawned on Me
Whole Love
Born Alone
War on War

http://www.mediafire.com/?74o4wsiq6h9qt

Wilco - Daytrotter Session 2011 (The Whole Love)

And so we find ourselves in the May/June dead period awaiting the run of Splendour sideshows.  In the meantime I'll try to put up a few bits and pieces to keep things interesting.

This one is Wilco's Daytrotter Session to promote their (AMAZING) new album The Whole Love.  This is from the Daytrotter site (good for checking out bands you've heard of but don't know enough about to justify an album purchase), so the sound is perfect.  I'll also put up their NPR session soon.  Hopefully that'll keep you going until they announce their Australian tour (if you're reading this in Europe or the US you should know how lucky you are that Wilco seem to have spent the last couple of years touring constantly between those areas).

Welcome to Daytrotter
I Might
One Sunday Morning (Song for Jane Smiley's Boyfriend)
Born Alone
Rising Red Lung

http://www.mediafire.com/?k7tkmpqr26333

The Wilco Book CD

As a big Wilco fan I check the fan site http://forums.viachicago.org/ on pretty much a daily basis.  The bands website doesn't have a forum on it, so this is pretty much the de facto official forum (people comment there on behalf of the band).

Recently, someone there asked for a copy of the CD from the Wilco Book.  For those who don't know Wilco released a book in 2004 that included various photos, diagrams, interviews, and other ephemera related to the band.  The book also included a CD of experimental music from the A Ghost is Born sessions.

In an interview Jeff Tweedy had mentioned that the band did a lot of experimenting at the time, such as setting up the studio so that members of the band could only hear a limited amount of what the others were playing.  I assume that these are from that experimentation.  Regardless, there are some pretty interesting things here, particularly for the hardcore fan, who will enjoy the more experimental versions of Hummingbird, and Company in My Back (titled Pure Bug Beauty on the CD).

As I've mentioned, this stuff is much more experimental than Wilco's other material, so those looking for the great lost Wilco album are better off checking out the various Yankee Hotel Foxtrot demos (which I will probably put up as part of my series of great bootlegs).  Note: the YHF demos are available from the Owl and Bear Archive (see links).

Lastly, for those who are concerned - I will never put up commercially available material.  However, this CD was difficult to get at the best of times, and is now out of print.  I put up a couple of comments at Via Chicago inviting anyone associated with the band to veto this, and no one did.  Nonetheless, if anyone has a problem contact me via email, or leave a comment, and I will take down the link.

Here it is:

Pure Bug Beauty
This is New
Diamond Claw
This is New (The Explanation)
What Good Am I
Here Comes Everybody
Hummingbird
The High Heat
Doubt
Barnyard Pimp
Rottnest
Hamani

[Update: apparently the old link was broken, so I've added a new one. If any links are broken for things you want send me an email]

https://mega.co.nz/#F!kdMBDb6b!VPMPz1gb1ihAtqp0b3G2fw

Lastly - I know lots of people are waiting for the Chris Cornell shows.  The first one is nearly done, and I'm hoping that the second one will follow relatively quickly since I did some of the processing simultaneously.